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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Eggplant Gratin

I remember the first time I made this for my husband. We were newlyweds and he had never had eggplant before. I decided that it was time to change that. After this, I can honestly tell you that he is now a fan of eggplant (with cheese).Ingredients:
EVOO
3/4 lb eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs Parmesan, grated
salt
ground black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauceDirections:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Repeat for all eggplant slices.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 tsp salt, & 1/8 tsp pepper.
3. In an oven-save baking dish, place a layer eggplant slices, then sprinkle with the ricotta mixture, & spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce. Repeat and then top with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned.
4. Enjoy!